


Fire

by Nellancholy



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Don't worry, F/F, eat irelia or anything, or really...carnivorism, she doesn't like, tw for cannibalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 09:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14375847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellancholy/pseuds/Nellancholy
Summary: Ahri joins the battle on Ionian soil.She loses something.But she finds something,too.





	Fire

The sounds of battle rang throughout and over the wooded ridges of the Jyom Pass. The Noxian push towards Tuula was being waged in full force. Initial incursions and raids had largely been beaten back by the monks,sorcerers,and hunters of Ionia. But the hastily conscripted militias of the numerous villages and the stately cities had never faced a force like what Noxus brought to bear in response. These were no longer skirmishes,no mere border conflicts. What seemed like the entire Noxian navy had sailed in. Coastal bombardments had commenced.

 

This was war.

 

The island of Galrin was the first to fall,and the Noxian army soon advanced over the mainland in force. Sure,they weren’t going to kill and burn everything in their path,but their intentions were clear. All of Ionia would be brought to heel under the Noxian banner,just like numerous other small states and cities across Runeterra already had been. Its people,its natural abundance...even its magic. Even if the rest of Ionia would understandably choose living in servitude over dying in valor,the monks,the shinobi,and the vastaya surely would not. With their loss,what could truly be said to remain of Ionia?

 

For her part,Ahri had not remained idle,as much as she might want to. If Tuula fell,they would soon take the Tevasan mountain range to serve as their gateway to the rest of the Ionian mainland. The people of Tevasa were gentle,humble. They were hardly inclined,nor even capable,of putting up much of a fight,but they would likely either be promptly imprisoned and enslaved,or else executed in a show of force towards the council. Both of those possibilities lit a fire in Ahri that had never been lit before,as she stalked through the underbrush,smoothly gliding up a tree trunk into the dense canopy of the forest like a white shadow.

 

There she spied a detachment of archers,readying to fire upon the formation of defenders. For now they had managed to take advantage of the relative narrowness of the pass,using lines of pikemen to fend off any attempt from the invaders to advance. Archers and sorcerers of their own launched arrows and bolts of light overhead to thin out the ranks of any who dared to make a push. It seemed they were locked in a stalemate,but if the oncoming rain of arrows successfully eliminated the backline of the Ionians,the survivors’ ranks would be all but broken and left vulnerable to the wave of steel that would soon rush forward.

 

Ahri cast her gaze higher,noticing several ballistae placed far off,in sections of the forest that the invaders had thoughtlessly cleared out. Those could be a problem later,but she had to deal with the archers _now_.

 

Taking only a split second to focus her power,she began to sing softly,an old Tevasan song. Though her voice was barely over a whisper in comparison to the sounds of the clashes happening in the pass,the two archers closest to where she was stood up,moving to investigate the sound they couldn’t even consciously hear. That was the opening she needed.

 

As they thoughtlessly made their way around their trees,almost beneath her,she leapt into action. Dropping out from among the branches,she flipped upside down,grabbing the head of one between her hands. Aided by her muscular tails,she kicked off the tree and spun in the air,a satisfying crack sounding as she turned their head in a full circle. Landing gracefully on the balls of her feet,she took a single swift step towards the other,her jaw distending as her face briefly morphed into that of her vulpine form. In a single bite,she tore a chunk out of their exposed neck,swallowing it in her furious hunger. Their blood spurted out of the gaping hole,splashing warmly on Ahri’s face. She felt with it whatever remained of their shriveled,repulsive soul,seeping into the skin of her face like the cold,heartless blaze of a furnace. It was a pair of worthless lives she just ended. But they fed her power still,and she would need it for what was about to come.

 

She took off running,covering the few more meters of distance to the rest of the detachment. The air crackled with electricity as she approached them,her tails bristling with blue flame. She could have approached silently,but for this,she wanted to make sure she made herself known.

 

A shout arose as she dashed towards the archers. They weren’t slow,she would give them that. In less than two seconds,at least ten arrows were flying towards her.

 

They were fast,but she was faster. Kicking off the ground,she slid aside like a bolt of lightning,leaving a trail of blue sparks behind her as the arrows embedded themselves into the wood and soil where she was half a second ago. She opened her hand,an orb of pure light forming within her palm. With a firm overhand throw,it surged forward,bursting through them like…an arrow through paper. Their armor,flesh,and bone didn’t melt before it,or even char,but burned cleanly away as they fell.

 

With a spin,she leapt into the air,narrowly avoiding the shots of the few who were still in a position to retaliate. She threw her arms open. Her tails spread like a fan,sparks erupting from the tips and burrowing into their bodies,immolating them from within.

 

 _Crack_.

 

A sharp,searing pain shot through Ahri’s shoulder as she fell back to the ground. Her ears twitched. Her eyes lit up. Only one still stood before her as she reached up,pulling the arrow clean out. They actually had armor on. Probably the captain of this little buffet spread. They reached for one more arrow.

 

Ahri let out a snarl as she tore forwards on all fours. The joints of her fingers locked up from rage as she pounced,her red nails hardening into claws. With a single motion,she tore off the breastplate. Before another second had passed,she’d buried her claws into their stomach,tearing it open more easily than burnt leaves.

 

Triumphantly,voraciously,she pulled out their liver,dripping with blood and bile. She took bite after bite of it,barely even stopping to chew,as the souls of the swine she had just slaughtered flowed into her. Her wound closed up,leaving nothing but a few drops of blood on her.

 

Her indulgence was interrupted by the loud sounds of the ballistae firing,neither bolts or stones,but strange,solid black orbs.

 

It was only a moment before Ahri realized what was happening,but it was already too late.

 

The shots were angled to strike the walls of the pass,not even needing to land directly among the defenders. As the orbs shattered,a dense,noxious vapor issued forth. The high walls of the pass naturally concentrated the vapor in a tight area,causing it to pool downwards.

 

It seemed the defenders immediately understood the situation as well,as the few sorcerers in their ranks quickly diverted their efforts towards forming barriers,radiant domes of light that shielded those surrounding them. But they couldn’t cover everyone,and those who were too far apart quickly succumbed to the corrosive cloud,the flesh all but melting off their bones.

 

Ahri sprinted to the edge of the cliff to get a closer look. Despite this dire turn of events,it seemed all was not lost. Somehow,the thick cloud was beginning to pool into a vortex…and advance back towards the Noxian line like the rising tide. Already the dense material was beginning to clump and stick to the floor of the rocky pass,where it would harm no one save anyone who might spontaneously decide to lick the rocks. But that also meant there definitely wasn’t enough of it to actually drive them back,though it formed a barrier they probably couldn’t charge past while it remained. As the cloud began to disperse,Ahri could make out…a strange sight. A tall,slender woman,clad in red armor,a shawl wrapped around her arms. Before her,a wreath of spinning,finely forged blades,gleaming in the sunlight as they formed into a rotating fan,blowing away the vapor. She seemed not even to be directing them. Each one of the numerous blades seemed to move precisely as she willed them.

 

The woman shouted,though Ahri couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. But as the cloud dissipated even more,leaving a green residue on the rocks of the pass,the woman’s intention was clear. They were going to charge to meet the Noxian line,preventing any further volleys of the ballistae,lest they destroy their own forces as well.

 

With that,the pikes began to move as the cloud dissolved,the Ionian archers firing before them to force the Noxians to shield themselves from above. The woman in red armor leapt above them,the flying blades themselves carrying her forward at high speed. As the two lines clashed,she did the lion’s share of the fighting,the blades sweeping through the Noxian ranks. Each blade was swift and precise,moving like beams of silver light. Even if they could slice clean through the thick iron of Noxian armor,they didn’t need to. With unerring speed and accuracy,they pierced perfectly into the narrow openings between the plates,rapidly severing blood vessels and vital organs,before extracting themselves cleanly,with barely a stain on any of them.

 

Ahri’s brow furrowed,her breaths deep and slow after her earlier exertion. With the incredible efforts of the woman in red armor,ten Noxians fell for every Ionian. But even the force in this pass alone seemed inexhaustible,let alone their main army. Eventually,even she might be overwhelmed…

 

But…the Noxians were starting to withdraw despite their advantage.

 

Only a part of the force stayed behind,continuing to struggle with the Ionians to delay them.

 

From up here,Ahri knew what was about to happen.

 

But maybe she just didn’t want to admit that she knew.

 

Even if she could get to one of the ballistae before it fired…there was no way she could reach and stop all of them.

 

Sure enough,loud creaks echoed over the pass as the ballistae adjusted their aim and reloaded.

 

And they fired again.

 

More orbs containing the foul vapor shattered against the walls of the pass,and another thick,green cloud formed in the pass. It descended over both the Ionians and the Noxian front line that knowingly gave their disgusting,putrid,worthless lives in service of an empire that sought only to burn,slaughter,and destroy what would not submit to it.

 

Ahri,of all people,should have known not to expect anything better from them.

 

She could have seen it coming. She could have done something. Stopped the Noxians earlier. Warned the Ionians…

 

Again,the cloud began to pool and descend.

 

Again some tried to flee,but most were almost immediately overcome,their flesh melting and hitting the ground before their weapons and armor,or even their bones did.

 

And again the woman’s blades began to spin around her,keeping the cloud away from her and those closest to her.

 

But she was right in the middle of it,and eventually it would sink down on her as well. They probably calculated specifically for that. Such knowledge and intellect,directed towards the most cruel ends…

 

That sight,that thought,lit the fire inside Ahri again.

 

There was only one thing she could do.

 

Only one thing she had to do.

 

Summoning all her accumulated energy,she let out a furious howl as she released it all at once,wreathing her body in psychic fire.

 

In a single leap,she landed within the pass,not faltering or collapsing for even a moment.

 

She dashed into the thick cloud,the substance boiling away in the face of her burning power.

 

She swept the armored woman off her feet,carrying her in her arms.

 

With the amount of energy this effort was consuming,she couldn’t maintain it long enough to boil away the entire cloud,or even half of it.

 

And in this split second,there was only one person she could save.

 

Not slowing down for even a moment,Ahri sprinted out of the other side of the cloud,proceeding to kick off the other wall of the pass,leaping off crags and rocks as she went.

 

Finally,she landed on the edge of the cliff,letting the woman down on her back as the blades clattered on the ground around them.

 

Spent,she sank to her knees,the flames fading as she breathed in deeply.

 

She felt…empty.

 

Blank.

 

As though there was nothing around her.

 

Nothing inside her.

 

No thought. No feeling.

 

The armored woman’s face betrayed no emotion either. Who knew what she was actually feeling on the inside? Not Ahri.

 

Before the woman could say anything,Ahri spoke. “The arrow that remains in the quiver may yet find its mark another day. But the arrow that is shot and shatters in vain…never will.” She’d heard that spoken in passing by some monk or priest a long time ago. She didn’t believe even a single word of it for a single moment. But…it seemed like the only thing she could say at a time like this.

 

The woman waited for only a moment. “I…understand. I understand what has to be paid. What has to be lost. And I am…grateful for your effort,vastaya. If you will follow me,perhaps we will be able to bring this to an end without anything more lost. Without anyone more lost.”

 

Ahri knew that wasn’t true. That was…impossible. And so she sat. Motionlessly. Thoughtlessly.

 

Eventually,the woman spoke again. “I will go now. There is still much to be done. But I know that the fire will be lit again. And when it is…we may yet meet again.”

 

Borne aloft by her blades,she left.

 

And Ahri remained. Alone.

 

Amidst the trees and what few beasts remained,she passed into a deep,dreamless sleep.

 

But inside her,a small flame grew once more.

 

And what it bore was not heat…but light.


End file.
